DRIVING ASSIST DEVICE AND DRIVING ASSIST METHOD

• US 20140058579A1
• Filed: 08/13/2013
• Published: 02/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: ONO, Sayaka
• Application Number:
  US13/965,360
• Publication Number:
  US 20140058579A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/30 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

A driving assist device including: a preceding vehicle behavior prediction unit that predicts whether a vehicle behavior of a preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior; a host vehicle behavior prediction unit that predicts whether a vehicle behavior of a host vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior; and an assist mode determination unit that determines a mode of a driving assist to be performed for the deceleration behavior of the host vehicle, based on a combination of the predicted vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle and the predicted vehicle behavior of the host vehicle.

Claims

1. A driving assist device comprising:

a preceding vehicle behavior prediction unit that predicts whether a vehicle behavior of a preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior;

a host vehicle behavior prediction unit that predicts whether a vehicle behavior of a host vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior; and

an assist mode determination unit that determines a mode of a driving assist to be performed for the deceleration behavior of the host vehicle, based on a combination of the predicted vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle and the predicted vehicle behavior of the host vehicle.

2. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein:

the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a first driving assist as the driving assist if a predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior and if a predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a deceleration behavior;

the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a second driving assist as the driving assist if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior and if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a deceleration behavior;

the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a third driving assist as the driving assist if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior and if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior; and

the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a fourth driving assist as the driving assist if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior and if the predicted result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior.

3. The driving assist device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a surrounding environment prediction unit that predicts a surrounding environment of the host vehicle; and

an assist execution determination unit that determines whether to perform the driving assist, based on the surrounding environment predicted by the surrounding environment prediction unit.

4. The driving assist device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a vehicle behavior database that stores a past vehicle behavior of the host vehicle in association with a particular location or characteristics of the particular location, wherein

the assist execution determination unit determines whether the surrounding environment predicted by the surrounding environment prediction unit corresponds to a location where a past vehicle behavior of the host vehicle stored in the vehicle behavior database is divided into a plurality of patterns and, if the surrounding environment predicted by the surrounding environment prediction unit corresponds to the location where the past vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is divided into the plurality of patterns, determines to perform the driving assist.

5. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein the driving assist includes provision of driving assist information for assisting the host vehicle in the deceleration behavior.

6. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein:

the preceding vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle based on a traveling direction of the preceding vehicle; and

the host vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle based on a traveling direction of the host vehicle.

7. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein:

the preceding vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle based on lighting status information of a traffic light installed in front of the preceding vehicle; and

the host vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle based on lighting status information of a traffic light installed in front of the host vehicle.

8. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein:

the preceding vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle based on whether there is a stop point in front of the preceding vehicle; and

the host vehicle behavior prediction unit predicts the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle based on whether there is a stop point in front of the host vehicle.

9. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein the assist mode determination unit determines a mode of the driving assist performed for the deceleration behavior of the host vehicle at an intersection or a point near the intersection.

10. The driving assist device according to claim 9, wherein, if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior and if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a deceleration behavior, the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a first driving assist for assisting the host vehicle in deceleration based on the prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle.

11. The driving assist device according to claim 9, wherein, if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior and if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a deceleration behavior, the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a second driving assist for providing information on the preceding vehicle or for assisting the host vehicle in deceleration.

12. The driving assist device according to claim 9, wherein, if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior and if a prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior, the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a third driving assist for adjusting a distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle before the intersection.

13. The driving assist device according to claim 9, wherein, if the prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior and if the prediction result of the vehicle behavior of the host vehicle is a non-deceleration behavior, the assist mode determination unit determines to perform a fourth driving assist for providing information.

14. A driving assist method comprising:

predicting whether a vehicle behavior of a preceding vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior;

predicting whether a vehicle behavior of a host vehicle is a deceleration behavior or a non-deceleration behavior; and

determining a mode of a driving assist to be performed for the deceleration behavior of the host vehicle, based on a combination of the predicted vehicle behavior of the preceding vehicle and the predicted vehicle behavior of the host vehicle.